The Woodkirk Sheela Na Gig

Photograph copyright Peter Connor

My thanks go to
Peter Connor and Macolm Haigh for bringing this figure to
light.

The figure is located in the church of St Mary at Woodkirk Yorkshire.
The church has a number of Romanesque features but the main body of the
church is thought to date to the Early English period. Anthony Weir
author of Images
of Lust is of the opinion that the figure dates from the
Early English period.
The figure is unusual in that it does not appear to be corbel or appear
to server some
other architectural function. At the time of writing (21 Nov 2009) the
figure is in storage.

It is quite plump with a pronounced vulva with the left hand reaching
down
to pull it apart. The right hand is held to the side of the neck
possibly
indicating that it
is holding its hair though the top of the figures head appears to be
bald. The hand
gesture is not dissimilar to that found in Roman depictions of the
goddess Venus (see below) who
is usually depicted with the right hand holding the hair.
Given that a Romanesque carving
incorporates many classical motifs this comparison may not be without
merit. Another carving
from Kirknewton
also has a hand to head gesture but in this case the hand is
that of an accompanying male figure.

This figure is approximately nine miles away from another unusual
sheela na gig
figure at Cleckheaton
which would seem to indicate that there was a local tradition
of carving these figures.